Advocate Good Shepherd employee killed by snowplow

BARRINGTON – An Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital nurse was killed Wednesday morning when a snowplow hit her in the parking lot of the hospital, a Lake County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman said.

Diane Shogren, 51, of Ingleside, was hit by a red 2012 Ford F-450 truck with a snowplow attached driving in reverse, according to the Lake County sheriff’s and coroner’s offices.

The man who was driving the truck got out when he noticed he hit something and saw Shogren, Lake County Coroner Thomas Rudd said. He called for help, and Shogren was taken into the emergency department at the hospital.

She died at 6:02 a.m., about a half hour after the accident. An autopsy is scheduled for tomorrow morning, Rudd said.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office Technical Crash Investigations Unit is still investigating the accident, which occurred about 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, but investigators “definitely believe that the weather had something to do with the incident,” Sgt. Sara Balmes said.

It was snowing heavily and there was limited visibility at the time of the incident, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office. The safety equipment, including the amber lights, reverse lights and backup alarm, were functioning.

The driver of the snowplow also is an employee of the hospital, which is located at 450 Route 22 in Barrington.

The hospital is investigating what happened and will take “all necessary steps to ensure it doesn’t happen again,” hospital spokeswoman Ro Ostergaard said in a statement.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with our associate’s family and our Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital family,” she said. “We are working closely with our chaplains and social workers to offer spiritual and emotional support at this difficult time.”